Mind Your Head
by distraught.hallelujah
Summary: Soon after being introduced to a world of Soul Reapers and Hollows, Jun is kidnapped by a rogue shinigami and, to make matters worse, also has to save the life of a certain white-haired child prodigy.  Will she succeed, or will she die trying?  First book in the Jun Trilogy.
1. My Worst Nightmare

A big thank-you to my Beta Reader, Symphony17, who finished smoothing out my book in record time, possibly due to the fact that I stood over her shoulder the whole time, cheering her on. And, of course, a thank-you to all the readers of this novel - I do hope you enjoy it.

* * *

><p>I glanced up at the sign with a practiced eye, and then pulled back my arm, ammunition at the ready. My senses were tingling, and I knew now was the time. I got ready, closed one eye for better accuracy, and let fly the bean bun.<p>

It hit dead center. The 24-hour convenience store sign swung on its hinges, the bean bun sticking to the 'O'. I grinned.

"Hole in one!" I exclaimed, high-fiving my best friend, Ai, who stood beside me. She gave a wary grin.

"I don't think the store owner would appreciate you using his sign for target practice," she said hesitantly. I sighed.

"Ai, Ai, Ai," I said chidingly. "Don't you trust me? Of course I told the store manager I'd be using his sign for target practice. That's why I'm using his bean buns. It's for _publicity_."

"I really don't think-" Ai was cut off as a great wailing and gnashing of teeth arose from inside the 24-hour convenience store.

"I wonder how the new guy's doing?" I asked thoughtfully. "I guess he must have dropped something, by the sound of it. Listen carefully. What can you hear?"

"Um… I hear a stream of profanities," Ai replied, tapping her pointer fingers together in an embarrassed fashion.

"Yes, but, behind that," I said exasperatedly. Ai listened harder.

"The new guy?" She asked slowly.

"And what's he saying?" I prompted.

"He's apologizing. Now come on, we've got to go in, get what's on the list, and get out, or your mother will kill me." Ai tugged on my arm.

"I'm sorry; do you _want_ to go in there right now this second?" I asked sarcastically. "Oh, yes, this is an excellent time to go in there and bother them."

"Well, I have to be home by four," Ai said hesitantly. I sighed.

"Give me the list. I'll get the stuff myself."

"Oh, I couldn't-" Ai began vehemently, shaking her head. I snatched the shopping list from her back pocket.

"It's my mom, my shopping list. You can go; I'll take care of it. What time is – OMG, IT'S 3:59!" I exclaimed as loudly and dramatically as I possibly could, pointing in obvious horror at the watch on my right hand. Ai shrieked and turned immediately, then promptly disappeared down the street.

"Too easy," I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively. I tucked the shopping list into my sleeve and headed into the shop.

The manager stood next to the boy by the cash register, who was trying to look as small as he possibly could. I glanced at his name tag curiously as I headed towards them, and read, 'Hello, my name is Hanataro.'

"—a ten-yen coin, which is not the same as a 100-yen coin!" The manager was screaming. I tried to look as cute as I possibly could as I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around.

"Excuse me, but could you please show me where you keep the produce?" I simpered.

"Over there," he said, pointing. He turned back to the poor kid behind the register.

"I looked, but I couldn't find it," I said sadly, staring down at my feet and adding a note of despair to my voice. "I'm such a failure. I couldn't even make a decent bowl of cereal this morning. Do you know what I did? I poured the milk in my cup and the orange juice in my bowl-"

"Come on," The manager said in an annoyed manner, taking my arm and leading me down an aisle. I glanced back at the boy (who was kind of cute, if you ask me. What? I'm just saying) and winked at him, then proceeded to be led down to the produce section.

"There," the manager said, having stopped in front of a large display of fruits and vegetables. He grumbled to himself as he turned and walked away. I picked through the vegetables.

"Ew," I said, picking up a stalk of broccoli and moving it aside.

"Ew," I repeated upon finding a bunch of carrots.

"Yuck." I futilely tried to figure out what kind of vegetable this one was, but to be honest, I had no idea.

I plucked out an avocado and glared at it critically.

"It's on the list," I said sweetly, dropping it into my basket. I was getting ready to move along when I noticed something on the avocado. I held it up to the light.

I screamed, dropping the accursed fruit. The inhumanly large spider (inspiderly large?) crawled off the fruit with – if it was even possible – a self-satisfied look and disappeared under a heart of lettuce. I shivered. If there was one weak point I had, it was spiders.

I heard running feet behind me.

"Are you okay?" Someone exclaimed. I turned and saw the register boy, wide-eyed, staring at me. I glanced at the lettuce the spider had disappeared under. Now came the hard part… admit that it was only a spider, or make up a story that won't make me look half so lame?

"Oh, it was terrible! It had… fur… and cold, dead hands! Eight of them! And a… err… skeletal mask! I saw it with my own eyes. It's coming for me!" I exclaimed dramatically, sobbing into the potatoes. The boy's eyes widened as he went into panic mode.

"Ah!" He screamed. "A Hollow! Help, somebody, help! Contact the Seireitei; call a Soul Reaper, anything!"

"Call the what, now?" I asked, completely taken aback. The boy was running in circles, completely freaking.

"Yo, chill, dude. It was just a spider," I said matter-of-factly.

"What?" The boy asked dumbly. I waved my hands in what I hoped was a hypnotizing fashion, and stared deeply into his eyes.

"Repeat after me," I said in a monotone. The boy froze.

"It…" I said.

"It…" the boy repeated hesitantly.

"Was," I prompted.

"Was."

"Just," I added.

"Just."

"A Hollow," I finished with a satisfied grin. The boy shrieked again, then continued running in circles. I watched him with an amused look on my face. _Whatever __that__ is,_ I thought. _Apparently__ he__'__s pretty __afraid__ of__ it._

"Man, are you gullible," I said, folding my arms and shaking my head. "All respect I had for you disappeared as soon as you began spouting nonsense."

"It's not nonsense! We're all done for! Quick, you have to run! Get a Soul Reaper before it devours you!" The boy wailed.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I guessed he was the type to get worked up about the slightest thing and not calm down until he was certain it was gone. "Listen," I began. "There is no-"

I paused suddenly. What was that strange sensation? It was like… thousands of little hairy legs…

I screamed, looking down with horror at my feet.

They were completely covered with humongous spiders, which were continuing to appear and climb further up my body. I fell to the floor, trying to brush them off.

They began to spread further, until they reached my waist. I screamed once more, with all the volume I could possibly muster.

Then they began to melt, almost like chocolate. It was so strange… first they were there, and then they began to stretch and melt into a different shape.

It was a hand - a giant, red and black hand that gripped my waist. There was a loud crash, and the entire side of the store was torn off, revealing the rest of the monster that gripped me. It was vaguely spider shaped, but a huge hole was cleanly cut from his chest and he wore a bone-white mask. He raised me in the air, and I was frozen with terror.

~ Meanwhile ~

"Sister!" Kon wailed, racing towards the closet and trying to peel it open. "Sister, save me!"

"Shut up," Rukia Kuchiki said irritably from inside. "I have to study."

"You won't get away," Ichigo Kurosaki growled, hopping off his bed and heading towards the cornered stuffed animal.

He paused in his pursuit of the mod soul and looked out the window with wide eyes.

"Rukia!" He exclaimed. The closet door slid open and Rukia jumped out, landing on Kon but apparently not noticing.

"I feel it," she said, nodding. "It's definitely a Hollow. And a big one, too."

"Right." Ichigo grinned, clasping something to his chest. His body fell slowly and landed on the floor, while a sort of apparition of himself appeared above him, dressed in a black kimono with a sword on his back.

"I'm ready," he said excitedly, taking the handle of the body-length sword on his back. He hopped onto the bed and jumped out the window, Rukia following. As the only one left, Kon groaned piteously from the floor.

~ Meanwhile ~

"What is this thing?" I tried to say, but it came out as a mere whisper. The creature threw back its head and laughed, revealing a pitch black mouth with three rows of teeth.

"What am I?" He roared. "What am I? I am the last thing you'll see. I am going to swallow you."

"I object, Your Honor," I was able to whisper, wetting my lips. "You see, I'm too young to die. I'm so greasy and fattening, I would really slow you down. You don't want to eat me."

The monster laughed again. _Why __the __heck__ is__ it __like__ no__ one__ can__ see__ it __but__ me?_ I wondered.

"I am only going to eat your soul, not your body," the creature said. "No worries."

I had a sudden, desperate flash of hope.

"Look at me, I'm so tasty! You really want to eat me now, you bastard. Go ahead – I hope I give you indigestion for a month," I sneered.

"Thank you for the invitation," the monster chuckled, raising me higher. "I may just take you up on that."

He lifted me to his open mouth. I closed my eyes, preparing for the end.

There was a shout, and suddenly I felt the pressure around my waist disappear. I felt myself fall, and then someone caught me.

I looked up. It looked like a boy, about my age, wearing all black and holding a humongous sword. He had bright orange hair. _Is __this__ heaven?_ I wondered, albeit briefly. _If__ so,__ why__ aren__'__t__ the __guys __cuter?_

He carefully put me down, doing his best not to impale me on his sword. I appreciated that, but still…

"And just who the hell are you?" I exclaimed.

"You can see me?" The boy asked incredulously. I snapped.

"WELL, YOU'RE NOT THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, NOW ARE YOU?" I screamed. "You guys are crazy! What is this, a Crazies Convention? Cause I sure didn't get the memo!"

"No time," the boy grunted, leaping into the air. He brought his sword down towards one of the monster's legs, but the monster pulled away and the sword hit the asphalt, sending up chunks of rock.

"AND WHERE DID YOU GET A SWORD, FOR PETE'S SAKE?" I screamed. Someone appeared next to me.

"AND WHO ARE YOU?" I roared, turning on the newcomer. It was an abnormally short black-haired girl with dark eyes, staring up at me curiously.

"Are you okay?" She asked concernedly.

"No, I bloody well am not!" I shrieked. "What is that thing? Why is a kid carrying around a sword bigger than he is?"

"You must have hit your head," the girl said unconvincingly, putting a hand to my forehead. I wrenched away.

"I want answers!" I roared, slamming my fist into a nearby wall.

Something amazing happened just then, something that would change my life even more than when I first realized that the word 'punctual' did not mean 'contains good punctuation'.

I could've sworn, in the instant before my fist made contact with the wall, that for a moment some sort of shimmering plastic shell coated my skin. As my hand slammed into the stone, it buckled under my hand and cracks spread across what was left of the wall and down into the asphalt of the parking lot.

The monster snarled, leaping back. I turned menacingly.

"You…" I snarled, raising my fist (which was smoking. Warning bells, anyone?).

"What are you-?" The girl behind me began, hand out to stop me. I felt a pulse shake my body, and without thinking I surged forward.

Another 'me' appeared beside me, except that it was… like my shape but transparent. Then the second me raced forward at a speed I was certain I could not run, and slammed into the creature full force, sending up a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, I fell to my knees, suddenly drained of my energy.

As my vision blurred, I saw the other me land on the monster, bringing her leg down on his mask. A single crack riddled the bone-white mask, and then the other me flashed out of existence.

That was the last thing I saw.

~ Upon Waking… ~

I opened my eyes and the first thing I thought was 'damn'.

I was sure that I didn't have a ceiling like that. I was also, though significantly less sure, certain that I did not belong in this room. I was, however, an even 100 percent sure that this was, undeniably, the worst headache I had ever had.

"Where am I?" I wondered, sitting up. Dizziness overtook me, but before I could hit the floor, someone helped me gently back down onto the bed.

"Ah! There's a guy in my room!" I screeched, pulling up the covers in case whatever I was wearing was indecent. The guy above me frowned.

"I'm just helping," he said. "That was some attack."

I stared for a moment.

"Pervert," I accused. He chuckled.

"My name is Kisuke Urahara. Don't worry, you're safe here. This is my shop. A friend of mine brought you here for treatment after you were attacked by a Hollow."

"Crazy pervert," I squeaked, pointing accusingly as I pulled the covers up to my nose.

"I'm not crazy, nor am I a pervert," Urahara said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Oh yeah? Then what are you doing in my room?" I demanded.

"I'll have you know that this is _my_ room," Urahara said coolly. The door behind him opened.

"Please, tell me you're sane at least," I begged the newcomer, who was a young man with bright red spiky hair, eyebrows that melted into tattoos up his forehead, and was dressed completely in black with a sword hanging from his belt. He blinked.

"Don't answer that," I said, hanging my head. I was defeated, utterly crushed, past the point of no return, and left with no way out.

"How are you feeling?" asked a cheery female voice from above me. I turned. It was a woman this time, with plum-colored hair, darkly tanned skin, and a bright orange shirt.

"My name is Yoruichi," the woman said.

"I'm fine," I said warily, not quite ready to give my name. The woman nodded.

"That was some fight. I wouldn't be surprised if you still have a headache. How were you able to control your Spiritual Pressure like that?"

"Don't tell me," I said sarcastically. "You're all Soul Reapers from the Seireitei, and you came to rid the world of Hollows."

Yoruichi shared a glance with Urahara.

"Well, not all of us," she said.

"Not all of you," I repeated numbly. "Excuse me; I think I need some time to… er… faint… or throw up… or both." I lurched to my feet.

"You shouldn't stand-" Urahara began. I stopped him.

"I'm fine. The headache disappeared when biker dude stepped in," I said, jerking a thumb at the tattooed boy in the corner. "I'm completely cured. Fit as a fiddle." I took a step.

"Well, would you look at that," I said in surprise. "I actually am."

"I really don't think you should be standing. You haven't learned how to control your power yet, so you used too much," Yoruichi said firmly.

"What power? What's a Hollow? What are Soul Reapers? You guys are all-" I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at yet another newcomer. It was another boy, with dark raven-black hair that looked midnight blue and rectangular glasses, which he raised a hand to push farther up his nose.

"I assume you were going to end that sentence with 'insane,'" the boy said calmly. "You should probably listen to Yoruichi, she knows about these things."

"And you are?" I asked. The boy smiled slightly. _Gosh, __he__ was_ cute! I thought.

"Ishida. Uryu Ishida. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name-" I began, when I felt the quality in the room suddenly turn curious. I looked around.

"What?" I asked uncomfortably. Everyone tried to look busy.

"My name is…" I paused for dramatic effect. I could choose whatever name I liked, they'd think it was my real name, and I'd have a group of people calling me whatever I wanted. This didn't happen every day. "Jun," I finished.

What possessed me to say my real name in a room full of crazies?

"Bean buns," I cursed, slamming my fist into the palm of my other hand. There was a snort from the other side of the room, where Biker Dude stood.

"You think my name's funny?" I asked coldly, crossing my arms.

"No, just your choice of curse words," he said with a chuckle. "I'm Renji Abarai."

"There something wrong with my choice of curses, you son of a-" I began, feeling that same sort of exhilarating feeling I felt before when I was fighting that monster. My vision became tinged with electric green, and I could've sworn it almost looked like a targeting system out of some science fiction TV show.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I stopped mid-sentence, the feeling dying down. Only then did I realize I had been glowing.

"No need to flash your Spiritual Pressure, I get it," Renji said across from me, putting his hands up.

"I'm flashing nothing," I spat, unconsciously tugging up the front of my shirt. I folded my arms. "What the _hell_ is going on?" I demanded.

~ Later On ~

"So, let me get this straight. You guys are… Soul Reapers from the 'Soul Society,' and you come to earth to fight ghosts-"

"Hollows. The ghosts we move to the Soul Society, whereas the Hollows we send back to the place between the Soul Society and the human world, called Hueco Mundo. Sometimes the Hollows get into the human world, and it's the Soul Reapers who have to stop the Hollows from devouring human souls," Renji explained.

"So both Soul Reapers and Hollows are invisible to humans?" I asked.

"That's correct," Yoruichi said.

"So how come I can see them?" I asked. "This is a little farfetched, if you ask me."

"People with high Spiritual Pressure, sort of like life energy, can see Soul Reapers and Hollows. Sometimes, they can also use their-" Urahara began. I cut him off.

"—Pressure for some sort of attack, I know. So what happened back there?"

"In a time of distress, or maybe when you're angry, the Spiritual Pressure will come to the surface and you can control it. Once you learn how to control it anytime, you can use that power for other things as well," said Ishida, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

"If you guys are Soul Reapers, what am I?" I asked.

"A human with powerful Spiritual Pressure," Ishida explained. "I, however, am not a Soul Reaper. I'm a Quincy."

"Oh? What's a Quincy?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Like Soul Reapers, a Quincy protects humans from Hollows. Unlike Soul Reapers, the Quincy are extinct. I am the last."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I was silent for a moment. Then I nodded.

"I get it, but… I mean, this is kind of crazy. Wouldn't ghosts look pale and transparent?" I asked. "I don't think I've ever seen a ghost. Oh, I was supposed to be home by six for dinner!" I leaped towards the door and opened it. Suddenly Yoruichi blocked my path.

"If you come back tomorrow, we can teach you to control that energy," Yoruichi said calmly.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'm coming back. That Hollow thing was just a fluke. It's not like it happens every day, so I think I'll be fine," I gave a little wave and tried to step past her. She glanced over my shoulder and gave a small nod to someone behind me, then moved out of my way.

I looked back, but everyone had terribly innocent faces. I scowled, then left the shop and headed down the street, hands in my pockets. I heard footsteps behind me and glanced back.

"What do you want?" I asked the Biker Dude Soul Reaper.

"It's not safe to be walking home this late," he said. "I'll escort you."

"Yeah, like I want my mom to see _you_ trailing behind me," I said with a sarcastic laugh.

"I'm invisible, remember?" Renji reminded me.

"Even worse. I'm going to claim you're a stalker if you don't go back right now," I said, pointing back the way I came.

"You wouldn't mind if Ishida came to escort you," Renji grumbled, crossing his arms. _Ooh,__he__'__s_ _good_.

"Yeah, because he looks _normal_," I hissed as though it were obvious. "Go. Now."

"Sorry, I'm staying," Renji said, firmly planting his feet.

"Sorry, you're not," I said, crossing my arms and glaring.

"Yeah, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"Listen, I just don't want you following me, okay?" I exclaimed exasperatedly. "I don't have time to argue with you, but I can't let you come along. It's already like 10:00 at night."

"Exactly. This isn't quite what I'd call a nice part of town."

"Well, no one will touch me while I'm talking to thin air," I said. "I'll be fine, believe me. You, get."

"Nope," Renji said, shaking his head. I glanced down at his sword, calculating the chance I'd have of snatching it and throwing it as hard as I could in the other direction. Renji put a hand casually on the hilt and glared right back.

"If you're going to come along, at least hide the sword," I said. "If my mom can see you, I would be grounded for a week."

"Deal," Renji said, shifting the sword so that it was invisible from facing him head on. Defeated, I sighed and headed down the street, aware of his footsteps behind me.

_Why__ me?_ I wondered. _Out__ of__ everyone__ in__ the__ world,__ I __had__ to __be __the__ one __to __get__ involved__ with__… __ghosts__ and__ Soul__ Reapers __and __crazy__ people_. _My__ mom_ _will_ kill _me_.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Renji asked from behind me.

"Yes," I snapped, firmly shoving my hands deeper into my pockets and setting my jaw. I closed my eyes for a moment, then looked up at the sky. A shiver went up my spine. I wondered briefly if this was how it felt in those horror movies as they looked up at the full moon just before the ghost appears behind them and attacks.

Ghosts. They're real. All this time, they've been real. How could I have known?

"Why was he after me?" I asked aloud.

"The Hollow?" Renji asked from behind. "Souls with more Spiritual Pressure taste better to them. That's why they tend to attack more powerful people. They usually only devour the souls of the already dead, though."

"So that means there's the possibility that there could be another," I said matter-of-factly.

"Well, yes," Renji said, trying to sound as though it was a trivial matter. I sighed.

"My house is just up here," I said, pointing. Renji glanced up at the dark, spiky mansion.

"Creepy," he commented.

"Yeah. My mom's Goth and my dad passed away a year ago," I said as I reached the gate. "That'll be all, thank you," I said.

"Have a nice night," Renji said distractedly, turning and heading back the way we'd come.

"Bye," I called, waving. He looked back for a moment to wave back before disappearing around a corner.

I opened the gate and headed up the front steps to the black door, and I fumbled in my pockets until I found a key and let myself in.

The door creaked suitably. I crept slowly down the hall and then started up the stairs.

"You're late," said a low voice from the kitchen as I passed by. I jumped, turning quickly. The light turned on and my mom sat there with a cup of coffee, bags under her eyes, messy hair – the whole shebang.

"Hi, mom," I said with a sheepish smile. "I got caught up in something. Turns out, there was a murder at the store and I was held for questioning. It was quite a mess."

"You're grounded. Three days," my mom said, holding up three fingers. "Now get upstairs."

"Yes, mom," I said, defeated. I headed up the stairs and into my room, and I shut the door slowly behind me.


	2. The Dandelion Shinigami

I woke up so early that morning that I lay staring out of my window until a decent time, so as not to annoy my mother by accidentally waking her up. Then I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs.

"—not available, I'm afraid," I heard my mother's voice saying from downstairs. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked down the hall towards the foyer, where I could see the boy and girl from before, during my fight with the Hollow.

"Jun!" The girl called cheerfully, waving. I scowled. I had a feeling she must have been another one of those Soul Reapers, and I recognized the orange-headed boy as the one who had caught me when I fell from the Hollow's hand.

That must've been the furtive nod from Yoruichi. I thought it was strange they'd just let me go like that, I guess because they knew they'd get me back there sooner or later, whether I wanted to go or not.

"Sorry, I'm grounded. Can't play today," I said. "Next week I'll be available, though."

"You heard her," my mom said in that monotone Goth way of hers, jerking a finger my way. "Get lost."

"I see." The black-haired soul reaper girl fumbled around in her pockets and came up with some sort of cheap toy, a duck head on a spring or something.

She held it in front of my mom's eyes. There was a flash.

"Jun, your friends are here to pick you up. Come back at three, don't be late," my mom called down the hall. The black-haired Soul Reaper cheerfully snatched my arm and dragged me outside.

"What did you do to her?" I exclaimed, trying to turn back. The Soul Reaper gripped my arm tightly.

"Memory replacement. She'll be fine; I just needed you to come along. I'm Rukia, by the way. Rukia Kuchiki."

"I'm not going anywhere," I hissed, yanking away. "Who do you people think you are? I haven't even eaten breakfast, and you're replacing my mom's memories and dragging me out to some place in the middle of nowhere-"

"Correction," Rukia said coolly. "Urahara's shop is not in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh, so now we're going back there?" I crossed my arms, planting my feet firmly. "Well, you can forget about taking me."

Rukia looked back at the orange-haired boy and nodded. He stepped up behind me and then, without warning, picked me up and draped me over one shoulder. They kept walking.

"I refuse to be treated like this!" I exclaimed, hitting his back. They had gotten me angry, and they were going to get it now—

I felt them stop, and then the boy carefully put me down.

"Well, that's better. I'm glad you listened to me for once," I said, hands on my hips.

"Uh-huh," Rukia said in a pained voice. "Now call them off."

"Call who off?" I began, turning to face them. I grinned. There were three ghost-like copies of me, each one with their hand at either the boy's or Rukia's throat. The me closest to me was unmoving, almost like awaiting my command.

"This is so cool," I breathed. "It's like sci-fi, but in real life. I've got like… clones… or maybe minions…"

"Call them off, please," Rukia said. "This one is giving me the evil eye."

"I don't know, maybe I'll just…" I froze as the multiple clones suddenly flashed into nonexistence. I sighed. I guess I wasn't angry anymore, because that wasn't working.

"Fine. I'll come to your stupid shop and go meet your other stupid friends," I muttered, walking past them. "But don't expect any favors!" I hollered back, waving a fist menacingly.

~ Later On ~

"Let me get this straight. You have miles of underground training area under your shop?" I exclaimed, waving helplessly at the endless sand in front of me. "Isn't that illegal?"

Urahara grinned.

"Maybe," he said, tipping his hat. I took this to mean, 'Probably' or possibly something along the lines of, 'You won't be telling anybody, of course.' As much as I hated to admit it, this was probably the case. "Have fun," he added.

He moved into the shadows and I sighed.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked, shrugging helplessly.

"You heard the old man," said the orange-haired boy, appearing on a cliff. "Have fun."

"Don't tell me… I know your name, I do, it's on the tip of my tongue…" I pretended to think hard. "I got it! Dandelion, right? I knew there was something floweresque about you."

The boy frowned.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki," he said, hefting his body-length sword.

"I'm Jun," I said pleasantly. "Nice to meet you, carrot-top."

"Shut up," Ichigo growled. "If you're so brave, try and hit me."

"Sorry, I could break a nail," I said sweetly. "But out of curiosity, is that a sword you're holding, or a toothpick? I can't tell from this distance."

I heard Urahara chuckle behind me, and I leaned casually against thin air.

"That's it, I'm going to come at you myself," Ichigo growled, leaping off the rock.

"Actually, I quit. I haven't learned how to control my Spiritual Pressure yet," I said, putting up my hands in a gesture of submission.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ichigo jumped into the air, bringing his sword down. I shrieked, jumping out of the way.

"What are you thinking? You could've killed me," I screamed.

"A pity," he said, leaning on his sword. "I missed."

"That's it! Get over here, you oversize dandelion," I growled, holding my hands in front of me. _Come__on,__multiple__me!_

"Was something supposed to happen?" Ichigo asked innocently, pulling his sword from the ground and slowly walking towards me.

"Don't act so confident," I spat. "Multiply!"

I heard a sort of zinging sound, and then there were two.

I glanced at the other me, and she grinned back with apparent eagerness. I smiled, staring at Ichigo evilly.

"Oh, wow," Ichigo said sarcastically. He began to charge.

"Woah, woah, woah!" I leapt back, throwing my arms up. "Watch where you're swinging that!"

The other me held her arms up in front of me. The sword made contact with her forearm, and she smiled, apparently undamaged.

"Multiply!" I exclaimed, concentrating. There were three more zinging sounds.

One took hold of Ichigo, and another landed a martial arts kick in his gut. He said 'oof'.

"This is wicked cool," I breathed, tugging on the Spiritual Pressure strings that I could still feel connected. The other me raised her arm and brought it down, but Ichigo was suddenly gone.

"Flash Step," he said smugly.

"Foul! I don't know what that is!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms.

I felt a ripple in my Spiritual Energy as all four of my clones began heading towards him at once. Suddenly, I could no longer breathe. I fell to my knees, choking, feeling the clones pull back into what little energy remained.

"You all right?" Urahara asked, stepping forward. I couldn't speak, so instead I tried to shake my head. _I__ used__ way __too__ much __energy_, I thought. _Maybe__ keep__… __just__ two__ or__ so__ moving __at__ the__ same __time__…_ I saw dark spots cloud my vision, and then everything was swallowed up.

~ Upon Waking… ~

I woke up to the best view possible – Mr. Ishida leaning over me. Despite myself, I felt I had to grin. I was not this lucky every day.

"Are you all right, Jun-san?" Ishida asked, sitting back as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"I'm fine," I said, sitting up. "I just got tired, that's all."

"I don't think you should try getting up just yet. You used quite a lot of your Spiritual Energy."

"Yeah, it seems I use less when I'm angry and more when I'm calm. Weird, huh?" I snorted, having the feeling that maybe I should've just headed back up the… mile-long ladder back to Urahara's shop and left that twice-darned Ichigo.

"Where is he, by the way?" I asked.

"You mean Ichigo? I'm not sure. Probably planning his revenge," Ishida said with a wry grin.

"So, you're a Quincy, right?" I asked. Ishida nodded. "The last one, right?" Another nod. "So can you do the like Flash Step thing and have a, you know, giant sword?"

"No. I used to have my Quincy powers, but I lost them a while back. I was reckless," Ishida said, lifting his finger to the bridge of his nose for his glasses again.

"Oh. I'm sorry." I stood up and swayed for a moment, but other than lack of balance I felt fine. "Thanks," I said with a little wave as I headed for the door.

"You really shouldn't-" Ishida began. I shook my head dismissively.

"I'm fine. I heal fast. You should've seen it; I once broke my arm doing something stupid, and the doctor said 'six weeks.' Took me two, after that I was completely healed."

"Something stupid, huh?" Ishida asked, smiling slightly.

"Well, me and my best friend Ai thought it would be a good idea to dare each other to cross this busy street, and I was hit by a car," I said. Ishida's eyes widened.

"You were hit by a car?" He repeated.

"Well, actually, two. The first one hit me and swerved to a stop, and then I rolled out of the way of the second lane and into the third, and then this semi came out of nowhere. I ducked under it, you know, like James Bond? Then this little BMW behind it ran over my arm just before I got to the other side. It was tight." I nodded appreciatively.

"Uh-huh," Ishida said sarcastically. I laughed.

"Okay, not quite. Actually, I fell off the diving board during a champion swim meet. I hit my arm on the side of the pool as I fell into the water."

"That must have been painful," Ishida commented.

"Not really. It was worse, because then everyone started laughing because I fell off the diving board. That thing was, like, way up there, though. That was the tallest damn diving board I had ever seen in my entire life," I said with a laugh. "I'm a little weird about heights."

"Heights, huh?"

"… and spiders," I finished, blushing. "They're just so creepy, you know? But heights… heights are the worst. You know, I didn't tell anyone, but I didn't actually fall off that diving board. I fainted. Not like I'd admit that to anyone, though," I said quickly.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Ishida promised. I grinned.

"Thanks," I said gratefully, heading out into the main room.

"You seem to be recovered," Renji said from the table right outside.

"No thanks to you, freeloader," I said, my eyes stuck to his plate, which was stuffed like there was no tomorrow. Renji scowled.

"Why does everyone call me that?" He demanded.

"No clue," Urahara's assistant, a scowling boy, said sarcastically.

"You must be Jinta," I said. He looked up at me suspiciously. "I just remembered hearing your name from Goliath."

"Goliath?" Jinta asked, puzzled.

"The really big guy," I said, holding my arms out wide. Jinta laughed.

"Oh, that's Tessai."

"Yeah. Him," I nodded. "Well, what's for lunch?"

"I don't actually know," Renji said suddenly, staring at his plate. I burst out laughing.

"You're eating it and you have no idea what it is?" I exclaimed. Renji's scowl deepened.

Rukia appeared at the door, crossing her arms.

"You guys are too loud," she said. Ichigo appeared behind her.

"Are you guys a couple?" I asked without thinking. Rukia blushed and Ichigo immediately moved to the other side of the room.

"No, just friends," Rukia said, sitting down. "What's for lunch?" She said quickly, changing the subject. I noticed Ishida head out of the room behind me and sit at the table.

"We don't know," I said cheerfully. "Dig in."

It was Rukia's turn to scowl and Renji's turn to snort into what looked like donburi.

"Looks like tuna tempura, donburi, gyoza, soba, and some other stuff. You know, I'm not really hungry yet, so I think I'll go on a walk," I said, getting to my feet. "Anyone want to come with?"

Everyone looked around at each other sheepishly.

"That's fine." I shrugged and headed outside. It was raining very lightly, a perfect walking rain. It was the kind of rain that you could stay for an hour in, and by the end your hair was damp. That kind of misty rain.

I love rain. It was such a nice day. I hummed as I headed down the street towards a park I had been to on occasion before. It was big and very green, the picture of places for a football game or something.

The fact that it was raining only detracted slightly from the overall look, but made it just that much more fun. I sighed, shoving my hands deeply into my pockets as I headed out onto that field. I realized that everything did look a bit greener, even in the grayish rainy light.

_Was__ it__ just__ my __imagination?_ I wondered. Everything in my vision was tinged with green. Oh, well. Maybe it was just a part of that Spiritual Pressure thing I can…

I shivered. It was not cold, but something made me stop for a moment. A sense of foreboding came over me, and I turned to head back to the shop when I felt the familiar sensation of thousands of little hairy legs.

~ Meanwhile ~

"How have you been doing with the new girl?" Rukia asked, leaning her elbows on the table. Yoruichi looked up.

"Nothing yet. She's still a little… well, the whole concept of Hollows and Soul Reapers is a bit much to take in. I think she'll still need a little bit of time to get used to it. She seems quite powerful, though, not to mention quick regeneration," Yoruichi said appreciatively.

"Regeneration?" Jinta asked curiously.

"She heals quickly and after over-using her Spiritual Pressure, it'll build up to full again within a few hours. It's quite amazing," Yoruichi explained.

"So next time, I can go ahead and unleash my Getsugatensho on her," Ichigo said, grinning.

"That might be a bit extreme," Ishida said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. "She's still learning how to control her power, so something like your zanpakuto's Getsugatensho might be a little excessive."

"Yeah, but she'd heal," Ichigo said indifferently.

"I don't think anyone could recover from being blown to bits or decapitated," Ishida said thoughtfully. Suddenly, the atmosphere of the room changed.

"What is this Spiritual Pressure?" Rukia asked, eyes wide.

"It feels like that Hollow from before," Ichigo said. Suddenly he started. "But I can feel Jun's Spiritual Pressure as well!"

Everyone leaped up from their seats as a distant scream was heard, and zanpakutos were unsheathed.

~ Meanwhile ~

"Thought you got away from me, did you? That stung," the Hollow in front of me whined. As though to prove it, he turned his head, where a gash like a scar remained in the side of his face.

"Let me down," I shrieked, pounding vainly on his hand.

"As you wish," the monster chuckled. He let me go just as I realized he was holding me twenty feet from the ground. I hit the ground hard and distantly heard a 'crack'. My vision went blurry, and I numbly felt a hand around my waist, picking me up again.

"Oh, how foolish of me. It seems I broke my favorite toy," The Hollow said in mock worry, shaking me mercilessly. I felt something wet on my face, and realized my head must have been cracked open.

_Oh,__ well._ I thought dreamily. _So __I__'__ll__ just__ die __here._

"How are you feeling?" The Hollow asked with fake concern. "Oh, a headache? I'm sorry to hear that. I wonder what could've happened?" He chuckled again.

"Multiply," I whispered, trying to target the monster's head. I couldn't see anything.

I felt a slight tugging sensation, and then the creature roared in pain as the second me appeared and slashed a matching scar on the other side of his face.

"Jun!" I heard someone scream distantly.

_That__'__s __my __name,__ isn__'__t__ it?_ The small part of me that still cared wondered.

I heard a sound like loud whining, and then the hand holding me melted into a thousand spiders. I saw the flash of a silver blade cut into the mass of spiders, and then I felt a familiar falling sensation.

Then someone was hitting me, and I didn't like it.

"Gerroff," I muttered, turning my head slightly. "I'm tired."

"Jun! Listen to me. Don't fall asleep, you hear? Don't fall asleep!"

I recognized the voice as Ishida's. Oh. Well, then.

"I'm sleepy," I murmured, my eyes opening slightly. I couldn't see very well through a mask of blood, and for a split second I had a sinking feeling, but then I went back to the dreamy careless feeling that I was rather enjoying.

"I'm just going to take a quick nap," I mumbled, my eyes closing again. He was hitting me again. Why was he hitting me?

"Stop it," I managed to say, raising a hand long enough to bat his frantic slaps away.

"If you fall asleep now, you won't wake up!" Ishida warned from above me. I tried to focus on his face, hearing weird fighting and squishing sounds from somewhere off to one side. Oh. They're fighting the Hollow.

"Hado 31, Red Flame Cannon!" I heard someone exclaim. The Hollow roared in pain and red light flared into my vision.

"I don't care," I said. "I'm tired and I want to go to sleep."

"Oh, no, you don't!" I heard Ishida say above me. He pinched my arm hard.

"What was that for?" I finally exclaimed, having had enough of this treatment. From him, even. "Stop hitting me, will you?" I slurred, getting to my feet unsteadily. My eyes were refusing to work, but I blearily focused on the Hollow just as Ichigo brought his sword down on the Hollow's mask, and the Hollow disintegrated into a burst of color.

"You're all crazy," I slurred, lurching a step. "I'm going home." I turned and felt my knees give way, and Ishida caught me as I fell to the ground.

"Is she okay?" Ichigo asked concernedly, appearing with his sword in my limited field of vision.

"I'm bloody fine, you bastard. If I weren't so bloody dizzy, I'd get up and kick your sorry behind all the way to Canada!" I exclaimed, shaking a fist.

"Be quiet, please, you're hurt," Ishida said above me, trying to wrap some sort of bandage around my head. I brushed him off.

"Mild concussion," I slurred. "Now get the hell away from me so I can go home."

"You're not going anywhere," said Yoruichi firmly above me. Somehow, I couldn't seem to reply to that.

"Fine. At least shut up long enough for me to take a nap," I said, turning over. I realized I was in Ishida's lap, and I blushed, trying to get back to my feet.

"Why are you upside down?" I asked curiously. The last thing I had time to wonder was

_Why __is__ the__ world__ spinning?_ just before I felt myself fall again, and three different pairs of hands seemed to leap forward to catch me.


	3. Third Time's The Charm

I opened my eyes. The first thing I thought was, '_Is__ anyone __keeping __a __tally?__ '__Cause __that__'__s__ number__ three._' The second thing I thought was, '_Wow.__ I__'__m__ alive._'

At the second thought, I had mixed feelings about my predicament. Then I waited for whoever was probably next to me at the time, be it Ishida, Urahara, or everyone else, to say something.

There was nothing.

I moaned, rolling over. You know back when I said that that was the worst headache I had ever had? Well, it wasn't. This was.

I raised a hand to my head and my hand met gauze.

Oh, that Ishida (cue giddy laughter). I sighed, putting my hand back down. Maybe if I waited a little while longer, the headache would go away, the wound would heal, and Ishida would kiss me.

Okay, scratch that last.

I sat up slowly, supporting myself with my elbows. I looked around. It was the same room as before, with that certainly-not-my ceiling. I looked towards the door and immediately regretted it.

_ Mental note; don't turn your neck._

I nodded, turning at the waist to see the door without turning my neck. I was beginning to feel quite sorry for myself, not to mention thinking that maybe it was time for a vacation. Man, just being around these people was unhealthy!

I sat back down as a bout of dizziness came over me. I sighed. Wasn't it enough that I had a spider Hollow after me, my best friend deserted me, and my new friends erased my mom's mind? Apparently not.

Now I had a whopper headache and a sore body besides. Why me? I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket further up, until it met my chin. Maybe I should just quit while I'm ahead.

But then I'd never see them again…

I could live with that.

I tossed aside the blankets and got to my knees. At this moment, I was moderately sure that trying anything more ambitious than that could turn out particularly painful.

I crawled across the floor and opened the door very slightly to peer out. There was no one there.

_Huh,_ I thought. _That__'__s__ weird._

I opened the door slightly more and stuck an arm out – just in case.

Then I headed out into the living room. Here, I took hold of the table and used it to very slowly push myself to my feet. I leaned against the wall as I teetered down the hall towards the front door and put a hand on the edge of the screen door for a moment to catch my balance again.

If only I weren't so damn dizzy.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment to calm myself. Then I nodded and slid the door open.

"Oh!" I bumped into someone on the other side and felt a hand on my arm, steadying me before I fell flat on my face.

"I'm sorry," I said automatically, looking up expectantly. I dragged my gaze down. It was a kid.

He was about a head shorter than me, wearing a white Soul Reaper robe. He had a sword at his side and messy white hair that stuck up in places, not to mention the biggest, cutest green eyes I had ever seen.

"Should you be walking?" He asked in a very mature tone.

"No," I answered honestly. "Probably not. But I'm walking anyway," I headed past him, but he blocked my way.

"Your name wouldn't happen to be Jun, would it?" He asked mildly.

"Uh… do I know you?" I asked, supporting myself on the doorframe.

"13 Court Guard Squads, Captain Hitsugaya," the boy said, folding his arms. I blinked.

"So you're like… a head honcho?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.

"I'm the head of Squad 10," he clarified.

"Oh. I see." Another bout of dizziness made me sway slightly, my eyes crossing.

"I think you should lie down," the little Captain said.

"I don't need medical advice from a kid," I said frostily. He stiffened.

"I admit, I'm no Unohana. However, I am the Captain of Squad 10 and am therefore your senior officer. I expect to be treated as such," he said coolly.

"What's Squad 10? Arts and crafts committee?" I asked with a snort. The Captain was silent. I could tell I had really made him upset. He shut his eyes for a moment.

"We take care of any and all monsters and/or threatening animals. This includes in your human world. I'm sure I have enough time to take care of an annoying person as well." He put a hand casually on the hilt of his sword.

"Touchy, touchy," I said. "Didn't mean to get your sword in a knot. Sorry, I don't know much about the Soul Reaper's world."

"I had a feeling you didn't," the captain said. "Otherwise you would've known who I am. I'm known as Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of Squad Ten."

"Right. Have a nice day, captain," I said, saluting. I headed past him.

"You won't get very far," he said suddenly, turning to face me. I glanced back at him as I put a hand on the fence to steady myself.

"Not in that condition," he added.

"I know. I'm going to a hospital," I said.

"I think you should stay here for the time being. There are people who may wish to do harm to you humans, and this is the safest place right now."

"Well, I don't exactly feel well after that run-in with a Hollow, so if you don't mind, I really should get going," I said, shrugging.

"Hollow, huh?" Hitsugaya asked. "Are you a Soul Reaper, then?"

"Oh, no. I only just learned about the Soul Reapers yesterday. I'm a human, far as I know. You have a nice day." With that and a little wink that I couldn't resist, I continued slowly making my way along the fence.

"Out of curiosity, where are you going?" The captain asked.

"Home," I said.

"I thought you were going to a hospital," the captain accused.

"Home first. I was supposed to be home by three," I explained.

"I'm afraid you can't," the captain said. I stopped and turned back towards him.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Lately… it has come to our attention…" the captain trailed off hesitantly. I put my hands on my hips.

"What?" I demanded. "If you weren't going to tell me, you shouldn't bring it up."

"I'm afraid our newest opponent has been busy," Hitsugaya said laboriously. "It seems a rogue Soul Reaper by the name of Hiro Hokkaido has begun kidnapping souls from around the town. No one knows why, as of yet…"

"Is that where everyone's gone?" I asked.

"My lieutenant as well. I was just planning on finding her to ask for a status report. Is Urahara here?"

"I don't know. I just woke up," I said.

"Woke up?" The captain asked curiously.

"I was sort-of knocked unconscious during the fight with the Hollow. I told him to let me go, and he did, but he was holding me twenty feet off the ground, so… yeah." I raised a hand and rubbed the back of my head.

"I see. Come inside," the captain ordered, holding the door open. I hesitated.

"Well, if a Soul Reaper is loose in the city, shouldn't I go home and check on my mom before I come back here?" I asked.

"No. It is better if you stay here. Besides, as far as we know, this shinigami is only after souls. You and your mother are perfectly safe."

"Well, then, I should help them fight," I said, leaning away from him.

"Do I have to knock you out and carry you inside?" The captain asked firmly.

"Ha!" I found myself exclaiming. "I don't think you could if you tried…" I stopped myself just in time, but nevertheless felt the temperature drop at least a few degrees. Hitsugaya gave me a level stare and I headed back into the shop, metaphorical tail between my legs.

I headed back into the room I had just abandoned and sat back in the bed, putting a hand to my head. I carefully slid my hand under the layers of bandage and began unrolling it.

"Should you be doing that?" The 'child prodigy' interrupted, having appeared at the door. Let me tell you, I jumped at least three feet in the air.

"Isn't that none of your business?" I asked mildly.

"Perhaps." Hitsugaya said, leaning against the doorframe. "Believe me, I would be fine with just leaving you at whatever you're doing."

"Good. Could I borrow a pair of scissors?" I asked, just to see out of curiosity if he'd do it or not.

"I am not the captain of the Arts and Crafts committee," Hitsugaya repeated with forced infinite patience.

"I see. Your sword would do fine," I said agreeably. That did it. He didn't even dignify that with a response; he just turned and disappeared, slamming the sliding door behind him. I sighed, leaning over my ankle for no reason in particular.

"Could you scratch my back for me?" I asked aloud, forcing a clone out of what Spiritual Energy I had left. I felt her hands on my back and sighed with relief as she reached that one spot people could never reach, just between my shoulder blades.

"A rogue Soul Reaper?" I asked myself aloud. "I wonder, can you talk?" I asked, turning towards my clone. She didn't answer. "Oh, right. Of course," I said, nodding. "No vocal chords."

The clone disappeared and I sighed, sitting back.

Then I stood up and tiptoed back to the door, walking out into the living room, where the captain sat at the table.

"Make yourself useful, will you?" I grumbled. He looked up at me with distaste.

"I will not make you tea," he said levelly.

"Aren't you supposed to be out there fighting with your friends?" I asked, waving towards the outside. He dropped his head for a moment.

"I think they can handle it," he said matter-of-factly. "Abarai and Matsumoto are both lieutenants, and Kurosaki is… probably about as good."

I noted his hesitation in admitting Kurosaki's talent.

"I see." I checked the refrigerator and pulled out a milk carton. I sat cross-legged across from him and drank straight from the carton.

"Isn't that Urahara's milk?" Hitsugaya asked.

"It is, isn't it," I said, putting the milk down. "I guess it's mine now. Oh, well."

"You seem to be nicely settled in," Hitsugaya commented.

"Not really," I said. "Out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"None of your business," Hitsugaya said levelly. "When Urahara told me he had left 'Jun' back at the shop, I was thinking someone more… well, more."

"I'm only fifteen. They'll grow in," I said defensively, crossing my arms over my chest. He blushed slightly.

"I wasn't talking about your… I thought you would know more about what was going on, for one, and at least have a reason for why you're here," he explained. I blinked. Oh.

"Well, I don't like to brag," I began, though I so totally did, "but I'm kind of awesome."

"Kind of?" The captain asked, eyebrows raised.

"Okay, I admit," I sighed as though in defeat, bowing my head. "I'm actually completely awesome," I finished.

"I see," Hitsugaya said flatly. "So I suppose that means you've been training under Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi to control your Spiritual Energy?"

"Sort of," I said. "It's more like I had just decided to save myself and run from the crazies when I bumped into you."

"I see," the captain said doubtfully. "What do you do?"

"I make multiple minions," I said smugly. "Go ahead, you can worship me. I promise, I won't let it go to my head."

"Multiple… minions?" The captain repeated slowly. I nodded.

"Think about it – suddenly, there's two times as awesomeness as there is with just one of me. How cool is that? I can go up to, like, five. Although, if I try to move them all at once, it gets a little taxing," I said thoughtfully.

"I see. How exactly does that work?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Do I detect – gasp and swoon – _politeness_?" I exclaimed dramatically, falling backward in exaggerated shock and putting a hand to my chest. Needless to say, he was undeterred. An evil smile tugged on the corners of my mouth, and my impish personality broke through once again.

"Okay, but only if you ask real nice, okay?" I purred, leaning across the table towards him. He leaned back in a frail attempt to keep distance between us.

Of course, he wouldn't want to catch my sanity, now would he?

"I think you should…" he began.

"—be locked up?" I finished, propping my head up with one elbow and giving a long-suffering sigh. "I meant just say please. Gosh, you have such a dirty mind."

Ignoring the dirty mind comment, Hitsugaya cleared his throat.

"Would you mind perhaps showing me your ability? Please?" He asked politely. I grinned, beginning a slow clap.

"Was that too hard?" I asked, shaking my head as I got to my feet. I closed my eyes for a moment, just to ward off the dizzy feeling I was already getting.

"Multiply," I muttered. There was a familiar zinging sound, and I opened my eyes again.

"And there you have it," I said, nodding at the bubble-like me-shaped figure. The figure looked back at me almost accusingly and I shrugged.

"I see." Captain Hitsugaya stood up, eyes locked on the clone. "What does it do?"

"Lots of things," I said dismissively. I began to sit back down when a sudden wave of dizziness overcame me, and I felt myself sway on the spot. Captain Hitsugaya glanced at me, realizing my distress, and began to move towards me.

I felt myself slowly falling sideways, towards the clone. I was about to apologize automatically for bumping into it when I felt a weird silky feeling, and I slid right through the figure. I was pulled upright.

"What…" I began, looking down at my hands.

The clone I had made was no longer independent. As I stared down in horror at my body, it became apparent that the silky feeling was the strange reflective surface of my clone as it covered my body and adhered to my shape.

I was completely encased in my own clone, and now I was pulling the strings from inside.

"Aw, hell."


	4. A New Development

"What… is that?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, eyes wide. I took a step back, not sure quite how to respond. It was apparent that instead of being a separate person, the indestructible material I used to make my clones… somehow covered my body.

Okay, I can deal with that, no problem, stay calm.

Who am I fooling?

"Oh my…" I began, feeling my body start to tremble. I fell to my knees.

I felt the floorboards crunch under my knees and I looked down.

The transparent shiny covering protected my knees, apparently, because though I didn't feel a thing and felt perfectly safe, I think the floor would beg to differ.

At this moment, I felt I had two possible choices. I could either accept this, say, 'Oh look, this is so awesome,' accept new powers and move on, or freak like a certain convenience store cashier whose name will go unmentioned.

Well, put like that…

I stood up slowly, not feeling burdened or hindered in the least by this strange material. I could breathe easily, apparently talk easily, and it weighed nothing.

Plus, I was moderately sure that now I was superwoman reborn.

I began laughing uncontrollably.

It was about this point when I realized that a very puzzled Squad 10 captain still stood in the same room, and I had a feeling that throwing back my head and launching into evil scientist laughter was not the best way to approach this situation. Faced with this thought, I sobered up immediately.

"Sorry," I said, clearing my throat in an embarrassed fashion. Judging from the expression on his face, an apology does not help much in this kind of predicament.

"It's okay, I'm perfectly sane," I assured him.

Looking back, I think that that as well was not exactly comforting in some strange and unfathomable way. I was ready to hear Hitsugaya's disbelieving, 'uh-huh…' when he did the most unexpected thing.

"I see," he said. I blinked. "How very interesting." He knelt to inspect the floorboards beneath my feet and I took a safe step back as he fingered the splintered wood, where a vaguely knee-shaped impression was still clear.

As it would happen, seeing as this was the worst possible time for everyone else to come back, due to Murphy's Law (If you don't know it, Google it) this was the perfect time for everyone to come back. And so, without fail, the pinnacle of Bad Timing took on a new name – Kisuke Urahara.

"Hi," I said, waving sheepishly. Urahara's gaze, as it was he who was the first to arrive, dropped to the floorboards that Hitsugaya was just hopping up from. He winced slightly, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a deep, calming breath.

"Geez, man up," I muttered under my breath. Behind him was everyone else; Yoruichi, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, three other Soul Reapers, and my soul mate, Ishida.

The particularly – let us say, 'well-endowed' – female Soul Reaper looked at the captain.

"Hitsugaya-taicho," she said in surprise.

"This is my lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto," the teenage white-haired wonder said from my side. I nodded understandingly.

"I admit, you have an eye for details," I murmured out of the corner of my mouth. The captain tried to elbow me in the ribs and would have succeeded had I not still been wearing Spiritual Pressure as dense as missile-proof glass.

"J-Jun-san," Ishida said in surprise, pushing up his glasses and squinting at my iridescent second skin. I grinned smugly and took out a metal nail file, casually running it across the nails on my left hand.

"You've gained weight," Renji commented innocently from nearby. Without looking up from my nails, I nonchalantly lifted the nail file and brought it down on his head.

"Apparently clones work as personal shields, but not in the way you'd think," I said thoughtfully as I stowed the nail file back into a hidden pocket.

"Could I borrow that?" One of the Soul Reapers asked confidentially, sidling closer. I raised an eyebrow for a moment, taking in the chin-length sleek black hair and feather stuck to his eyebrow. Then I shrugged and handed him the nail file.

"Knock yourself out," I said affably, giving him a quick wink. He took the nail file gratefully and set to work on his nails.

"Ooh, Yumichika's got a new toy," the last Soul Reaper, whose name I did not know, said, chuckling. He was bald and had what looked like face paint on the corners of his eyes.

"Ooh, someone's jealous," I said sarcastically, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow in a sly manner. He scowled.

"Jun-san, what exactly happened?" Ishida asked, frowning slightly. I repressed the urge to rush to his side for the sole purpose of making him smile and instead smiled myself.

"Well, since it's you asking …" I began, bowing my head. As I raised it again, I put on the most serious face I could.

"Well you see, it started with many vaguely green-colored three-legged visitors from Mars flying in on a little eco-friendly spaceship because they heard how delicate earth is and, not wanting to harm its inhabitants, had designed said spacecraft for the sole purpose of visiting our planet. They gave me this really neat bracelet – almost like yours, Ishida-kun – which I promptly lost, but while I had it on I got this sort of armor. As the spaceship was leaving shortly after staying a little while for tea – they drank your milk, by the way, Urahara-san – they knocked me over and I accidentally broke a hole in your… I mean, at that moment, an eco-friendly broccoli-powered explosive device dropped from the ship because a certain first mate pressed the wrong button and the resulting explosion damaged the floor," I finished proudly. "So there you have it."

"I see," Ishida said laboriously, slowly raising his hand to adjust his glasses with a slightly pained look on his face.

"And so," I concluded, raising a finger in the air. "That goes to prove that apparently broccoli has a use after all. Who would've guessed it, huh?"

"She was attempting to use her ability, and she fell into the clone. The clone then melded around her form and it became a sort of armor," the captain explained.

"And who, exactly, drank my milk?" Urahara asked, lifting the carton and shaking it meaningfully. I immediately pointed at Captain Hitsugaya, who had enough sense to point at me at exactly the same moment. Urahara sighed.

"Are you all right, Jun-san?" Ishida asked worriedly. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I told you, it was just a mild concussion," I said dismissively. "I just hit my head slightly, no biggie."

"Jun," said Yoruichi, who had appeared behind the others in the doorway. "Go rest in the room. It's late, you should sleep."

I began to object, but then I thought about it carefully. I sighed, stuck my tongue out at the roomful of Soul Reapers (which started me thinking that maybe it was not such a good idea to stick your tongue out in a roomful of people who each have a big sword hanging by their side), and then headed into the room, shutting the door behind me.

On the other side, I crouched by the wall and pressed my ear against the thin sliding door, listening intently for their conversation.

"How did it go?" Captain Hitsugaya asked once they had all settled down at the table.

"We couldn't find any trace of Hiro at all," his lieutenant replied with a sigh. "I'm afraid it's nearly impossible to track him, and souls are disappearing left and right. As a group, we caught two total and performed konso."

"I see." Hitsugaya was silent for a moment. "Anything else?" He asked finally.

"Apparently Hiro has got a friend," Ichigo's voice said, chuckling.

"What do you mean?" asked the captain.

"There was a woman at the scene," Renji explained.

"Her fashion sense was terrible," Matsumoto murmured.

"What did this woman look like, and what did she do when you came across her?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. I could imagine his cute little frown.

"We chased her into an alley, but when we turned the corner, she was gone," Renji explained. "It looked like she had a bunch of tattoos, and long brown hair. We never actually saw her face, because she wore a hooded cloak, but I think she wore a mask."

"Could she have been an Arrancar?" Hitsugaya asked.

"No," Matsumoto said with a little laugh. "Believe me, Arrancars dress better than that. She was wearing a weird sort of white halter top and a long red skirt slit up the sides. She had a pretty necklace, but the shoes didn't-"

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya interjected exasperatedly. "I don't need to know what she was wearing. You said she disappeared, right? Tell me what happened."

"We were searching for souls or anything strange, really," Rukia's voice spoke up. "As we headed down a street, there was a scream. We raced towards the source of the scream, and there was this woman leaning over what looked like a person."

"It was a soul," Ichigo interrupted. "It had a chain connected to its chest. Rukia yelled at the woman, and she looked up. The soul looked unconscious."

"We chased the woman down the street," said Renji, taking advantage of Ichigo's end-of-sentence pause. "And she ran into an alley. Then there was a flash of light, and when we turned the corner, she was gone."

"I see."

Then there was silence. I heard footsteps and was about to jump back when the door I was leaning against opened. I fell out into a heap on the floor.

I jumped up indignantly, blushing slightly. It was Hitsugaya who had opened the door, with enough decency to step out of the way so I'd hit the floor rather than bring him down with me.

"Jun-san," Ishida said in surprise.

"Stop being so surprised to see me," I muttered, scowling. "Honestly, you'd think you'd have grasped my personality by now. Of course I was eavesdropping. Duh."

"Since you've heard everything, I assume," Hitsugaya began, heading back to take his place at the table. He waved me over. "You might as well join the conversation." I gave him a suspicious glance and sat on the opposite side of the table.

"I believe I mentioned Hiro Hokkaido to you?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. I nodded and he took a deep breath.

"Well, we're trying to track him down. Now it seems that he has a partner. If we knew what they were doing, this might be easier, but sadly… we have no idea," Hitsugaya said. "He is collecting human souls for some reason."

"I think you guys are looking at this all wrong," I said, shaking my head. "Haven't you seen movies? It's never that easy. It's like poison ivy, you think it's just ivy, but it's really much more complicated."

"What is poison ivy?" Renji asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"It's like ivy, but it's poisonous," I explained thoughtfully.

"What's ivy?"

"Like poison ivy, but not poisonous."

"…I see."

"Jun-san," Ishida said, smiling slightly. "I do believe you are the first person I have met who can explain something to someone and actually leave them less enlightened than they were before you explained something to them."

"Thank you. It's one of my better traits," I said smugly.

"Ivy without qualifiers refers to a plant in the genus 'Hedera' of 12 to 15 species of tree-climbing or ground-creeping vines in the family Araliaceae, native to parts of Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa, and central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan," Ishida explained, casually shifting his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose.

"Poison ivy, or Toxicodendron Radicans, is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for the clear liquid called 'Urushiol' found within its sap that causes a rash by skin contact. 'Poison Ivy' is not actually considered a true member of the ivy family, and is, in fact, a member of the family Anacardiaceae," Ishida finished. I cleared my throat.

"Well, well, well," I said, folding my arms. "Looks like I'm not the only one with a penchant for bafflement."

"Now that we've had our biology lesson for the day – thank you for that, by the way, Ishida," Ichigo said sarcastically. "I think-"

"I believe the proper term is botany," Ishida interrupted.

"Whatever," Ichigo said dismissively. "Don't we have more pressing matters than worrying about poison ivy?"

"Indeed," Captain Hitsugaya said. A hush fell over the room.

"Though my lieutenant knows this, I haven't yet told you humans," Hitsugaya began. "I'm afraid we have no idea what Hiro looks like. All we know is that he's a rogue soul reaper, and that his name is Hiro Hokkaido. Which means you must all be especially careful, because he could be a random person you meet in the street."

"Wait a minute," I interrupted. "You mean to say that none of you have any idea what Hiro looks like, and you're still looking for him? I don't know about Shinigami, but here it's generally important to know what the person you're looking for looks like."

"I understand that," Hitsugaya said with a sigh. "But I'm afraid his Squad can't give anyone a decent description or a picture. Apparently he purposefully never stood out."

"You guys aren't going to find him, then," I said, leaning back and folding my arms. "You can't find something when you don't know what you're looking for."

"We have seen the woman, though. If she's involved, we can catch her and she will lead us to Hiro," Renji said excitedly, standing up and putting a hand on his sword hilt.

"I have business to attend to in Soul Society, so I'm afraid I won't be here much longer," Yoruichi said. "I won't be able to help much."

"So let's go! Who's with me?" Renji exclaimed. Ichigo, Rukia, and the other two Soul Reapers stood up. I got slowly to my feet.

"You guys are all idiots," I said matter-of-factly. "So me and Ishida will have to go along, too."

"Ishida and I," Ishida corrected. I glanced at him with a brief scowl on my face before turning back to Captain Hitsugaya.

"Whatever," I said dismissively. "I think we have more important things to worry about than proper Japanese."

"You know, that reminded me of someone, but I have no clue who it could be," Ishida said meaningfully with a glance in Ichigo's direction.

"I'll stay," Urahara said from the floor. I looked down.

"What are you planning on doing penned up at home while we're off kicking butt?" I asked angrily. He sat up.

"I am going to fix the floor you – ahem, the aliens – broke," he explained coolly.

"Matsumoto, I will also stay," Captain Hitsugaya said. "If anything happens out there, report it to me and I will come immediately.

"Yes, Hitsugaya-taicho," Matsumoto said, bowing respectfully as she turned and headed to the front door. Everyone else followed, and I stayed in the back as they all filed out the door.

"Out of curiosity, what are you planning in the Soul Society that is so important you can't stay?" I asked Yoruichi curiously. She gave me a strange look.

"Nothing important. Just some work I need to get done," she said. I nodded slowly and then turned, following the others out the door.

I stepped up behind Matsumoto as the guys took up the lead.

"Is it always like that for you?" I asked her. She glanced at me.

"Like what?" She asked.

"You know, that kid bossing you around like that," I said.

"He's my captain. It's his job to boss me around," Matsumoto said, shrugging. "And he may look quite young, but he can fight as well as any other captain, perhaps even better. He doesn't enjoy paperwork much, though…"

"No one does," I said, chuckling. "Oh, well. I was just thinking if your roles were reversed… what would it be like? I'm Jun, by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you," Matsumoto said cheerfully. "I'm Rangiku."

"Oh? That's a pretty name," I said thoughtfully.

"Thanks," Matsumoto said, smiling.

I stared at my feet as I followed the rest of the Soul Reapers down the road. I realized I was probably the only visible one, although maybe Ishida was visible too, because he wasn't a Soul Reaper. It looked like we were together.

I snorted, which got a strange glance from the bald Soul Reaper in the back, and ducked my head, trying to look innocent. I began to fall behind intentionally, walking rather slowly, until they turned a corner and I stopped altogether.

Huh. They hadn't noticed a thing.

I looked back the way we'd come, and I could see Urahara's Shop. I turned slightly.

Maybe if I could find this Hiro Hokkaido myself, I could hold him until the rest of them arrive and I'd get all the praise. An interesting thought, to be sure… but it sure sounded like this man was dangerous.

Besides, I'd seen movies. I knew what happened when someone left the group at night and went off to look for the bad guy herself.

Speaking of which…

I began to move forward to catch up to the others when something seemed to hold me down. Suddenly, I could barely breathe, some sort of invisible force holding me still. I forced my neck back, and I could just make out a figure standing above me.

"A pity, really," said a contemplative female voice. "I was hoping to catch a Soul Reaper, but all I get is a human. How do you like my Spiritual Pressure, human?"

The pressure was released, and I was on the ground, panting for breath.

"Not bad," I managed to say, giving her a thumbs-up. She wore a white top and red skirt, with a dark cloak over her shoulders. A long necklace of beads curled around her neck in three tiers. The cloak's hood shrouded her face.

She wore bright yellow sneakers.

"Interesting choice of footwear," I chortled, getting unsteadily to my hands and knees. She looked down at her shoes.

"They were the only decent yellow shoes I could find," the woman said indignantly. I snatched for her ankle, attempting to pull her to the ground, but she easily hopped out of the way.

"Bakudo 1, Sai," she said, making a sort of sign with her hands. My arms snapped around to my back, and my face hit the asphalt.

"Ouch," I grumbled, struggling to pull my arms back out, but to no avail. "What is this?" I demanded.

"A Soul Reaper Kido," the woman said smugly. "How do you like it? I have to stop you from moving while I bring you to a hidden place."

"Too bad," I said, kicking out for her feet. This time, she hopped off her feet, onto her hands, and then flipped over onto her feet again.

"How do you do that?" I demanded. "I can't even touch my toes!"

"Practice," the woman said, leaning down. She put a hand on my forehead, and I tried to brush her away, but my arms were still held behind my back. I saw a flash of light as her finger made contact with my skin, and then I was out. Again.

~ Meanwhile ~

"Where should we look first?" Ishida asked, turning to Ichigo, walking beside him. Ichigo shrugged.

"Down near the school?" He suggested.

"Why would an evil rogue shinigami hide out near a high school?" Rukia demanded, giving Ichigo a slap upside the head. "We should look in the less occupied parts of town."

"But if this Soul Reaper is smart, wouldn't he know we'd look there?" Renji asked.

"Exactly," Ishida said, nodding. "That gives him extra time, wherever he is, because we wouldn't find him looking where we'd think he'd hide."

"So what, then?" Rukia asked. "You have any ideas?"

"Maybe he's hiding in Hueco Mundo and just comes out sometimes, like a Hollow,"

Renji suggested.

"You mean…" Rukia took out a large drawing pad and a pen and quickly began drawing an outline of what she understood.

"Not again," Ichigo murmured, hanging his head. Rukia held up her drawing proudly.

It looked like a bunch of bunnies heading single-file in a space between two cookies. Soul Society was the cookie represented by a white circle with a grinning self-portrait inside, and the World of the Living was a cookie represented by what looked somewhat like daisies.

"Er… no?" Renji suggested. "What exactly is that supposed to be?"

"Soul Society, me, you guys, Hueco Mundo, World of the Living," Rukia explained as if it were obvious, pointing to each in turn.

"Er… then yes?"

"Rukia," Ichigo interrupted. "Put that away. You're just making it worse."

Rukia closed her eyes serenely as she firmly raised the drawing pad and slammed it down on Ichigo's head.

You could've sworn little birdies were flying in a circle around his head. Ichigo slumped forward, onto Yumichika, who shrugged him off.

"Ikkaku, catch," Yumichika said, tossing him forward. The bald Soul Reaper watched him hit the ground purposefully, then stuck one boot out and nudged Ichigo's shoulder.

"I said catch," Yumichika said reproachfully. Ishida looked back the way they had come.

"Rangiku-san, where is Jun-san?" He asked suddenly. Everyone stopped, including Ichigo, who was just getting up.

Matsumoto looked back immediately, towards the empty street behind her.

"I… could've sworn she was right behind me," Matsumoto stammered.

"Maybe she went back?" Renji suggested. Ishida turned around and began walking back the way they'd come.

"Where are you going?" Yumichika called.

"I'm going to look for Jun-san," Ishida called back.

"Renji's probably right," Rukia said. "She probably just decided to go back."

"I don't think so. Something's not right. Can you feel that?" Ishida asked, stopping suddenly. "I wasn't looking for it before, but it feels like… faint traces of Spiritual Pressure…" without another word, Ishida raced around the corner and disappeared.

Renji and Rukia exchanged glances, then bounded after him. Ichigo and Matsumoto then headed after the other three.

Yumichika and Ikkaku were left behind.


	5. Lucky, Lucky Me

I woke up to pure darkness. There was no end, it seemed, because I couldn't see three inches in front of me let alone whatever walls there may or may not have been.

I sat up. My hands were still tied behind my back, but this time with rope, not some sneaky, underhanded Soul Reaper trick. I felt around the knot with my fingers.

It looked simple enough, but there was no way I could undo it like spies in movies, and I was moderately sure I wasn't wearing a ring with a built-in high-intensity laser. I sighed, scooting back and feeling the wall.

I used the wall to push myself up to my feet and felt around the ground with my toes. I couldn't feel anything in my path, so I took a small step forward, felt around, took another step, felt around, and kept going until I felt the other wall.

About 13 baby steps, which would be maybe… six or seven feet from wall to wall?

I turned slightly and backed up along the wall to measure the second length when I heard distant voices. I froze, listening intently.

"Hokkaido-san," said a male voice. There was a crashing sound.

"Hokkaido-san, please… restrain yourself…"

"How _dare_ you?" said the familiar voice of the woman from before.

"Hokkaido-san…"

"Get… out," the woman's voice hissed. There was hesitation.

"GET OUT!" She roared, and there was another crashing sound, followed by running feet and a door slamming shut.

"Idiot," I heard the woman mutter. "Foolish, foolish bastard."

"Excuse me," I called, raising my voice. "Is there a bathroom?"

"Hold it!" The woman snapped.

"Are you in a bad mood?" I crooned. "Well, this worked for me – just look in a mirror, your face works wonders. I swear, I couldn't stop laughing. I almost died."

There was silence. I heard springs slowly creaking.

"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" The woman asked dangerously. I frowned.

"I meant," I said, raising my voice, "that your face is funny-looking. And apparently, you're also clueless."

"I see," the woman said calmly. "Yes, that's what I thought you meant." There was another pause, and then I heard footsteps and a rattling sound. I stepped back as a scraping sound gave way to a creaking sound as a door in the opposite wall opened.

The woman's figure stood in the doorway, twirling a key on one finger.

"Do you have a death wish, Friend of the Soul Reapers?" She asked smoothly.

"Depends," I replied just as smoothly. "Are you offering to grant it?"

"I was thinking about it," the woman admitted. "But I really do need you alive. You're the worm on the end of my hook."

"Ew," I said matter-of-factly.

"I wonder… how high is your threshold for pain?" The woman asked thoughtfully.

"It really depends," I said, staring straight at her. "I can stand stubbing my toe, but being forced to eat cold mashed potatoes with licorice pieces mixed in it in this kind of light with my hands tied behind my back I'd consider unpleasant."

"I see." The woman paused in thought, and then she grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door shut with a clang. I slipped to my knees. I wondered how long it would take for them to know I'm missing, and, if they did find out by now, how long they'd take to find me?

"Hey, wait, lady!" I called. "Did you say your name was Hokkaido?"

"That's right," said the female voice from the other side of the door, chuckling. "_Hiro_ Hokkaido. To think, your friends are out there looking for a man, and all this time I was right under their noses. Ha! I can't wait for the look on my dear Toshiro's face when he finds out. Priceless!"

"Who?" I asked dumbly. There was a pause.

"Captain Hitsugaya," the woman explained in a strange tone. A fanatic gleam appeared in her eyes.

"Oh," I said, nodding. "He _is_ pretty cute."

"I know, right?" Hiro replied, almost giddily, like we were high school friends or something. She sobered up. "The poor dear," she sighed. "I worked under him for seven years, and did everything I could to get him to notice me."

"I thought he said you didn't stand out?" I demanded. "This is confusing."

"What part of, 'He didn't notice me, even though I tried' don't you understand?" Hiro snapped, and the door slammed open again. She stomped in and took me by the collar, forcefully lifting me inches off the floor. I choked.

"I said I tried, but nothing I did made any difference. I even switched his shampoo with perfumed hair gel, for heaven's sake! He smelled like strawberry shortcake for a week, not to mention looked like he was wearing a white porcupine on his head! And yet, someone else got the blame and I was still stuck." Hiro's hand shook with rage.

I could tell, because, you know, that hand was the one cutting off my air supply. She let me go, and I dropped to the floor, knocking what little air I still had out of me. I gasped for breath and she continued her monologue.

"Then – and I remember this like it was yesterday – I cut all his shirts into heart-shaped pieces of fabric," Hiro said with a sigh. "He went in to work the next day, and…"

She bowed her head, sniffing slightly.

"He had borrowed one of Matsumoto's shirts," she continued with a sigh. "I remember watching him walk by, and the shirt was low-cut to begin with, but it was so big on him, half his chest showed, and he… he was so beautiful."

I burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," I chortled, "but that's just too much. Beautiful? My gosh, woman! Get a grip, will you?" Before I knew what was happening, Hiro's palm had come down and made contact with my cheek. It stung, and I felt my nerve endings protesting loudly.

"Be silent," she snapped, her eyes burning with murderous rage. My mouth shut with a clack and I was silent, though indignant on the inside (because, to answer her earlier question, I did not have a death wish, despite popular belief).

"My captain was my crush for seven years, ever since I became a Shinigami!" Hiro exclaimed, frowning. "Only once did he speak to me. That was the best day of my life! Do you know what he said?"

"Can't say I do," I grumbled, sitting up and tucking my chin to my chest to soothe my sore throat. My hands were beginning to burn under the ropes as well.

"He said, 'Excuse me.'" Hiro shut her eyes for a moment. "Then he said it again, and again, until finally he pushed past me because I was too stunned to move after the first time. It was like… like I had spoken to an angel."

I bit back another burst of laughter and cleared my throat instead.

"You know, I happen to know him personally. If you let me go, I can probably get you a date with him, free of charge," I offered.

"That's not what I want. I want _him_ to be at _my_ mercy now," Hiro said, her hands balling into fists. "And you… you'll be my bait."

"Back to the worm thing? Honestly, that's kind of gross-" I began, but she shut me up with a punch to my eye. Her fist slammed into my cheek and I knew automatically that not only would that be green in a few hours, but also inflamed and very painful. I winced.

"You have to learn to keep your mouth shut. You really will be killed if you keep this up," Hiro said, straightening up and folding her arms.

"You make it sound like it'd be my fault if I woke up dead," I exclaimed, wiggling to sit back up without the use of my hands. As much as I hated to admit it, I did rather resemble a worm.

"It would be. If you make me lose my temper, of course it will have been your fault. Remember that." Hiro turned abruptly and headed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. I was once again bathed in darkness.

~ Meanwhile ~

"I knew it."

Hitsugaya's hands balled into fists, his eyes shut. Matsumoto blinked.

"You… knew it?" She repeated.

"I knew he'd try something like this. His going so far as to abduct a human, though… I guess I didn't consider that possibility."

"It's not your fault," Matsumoto said cheerfully, patting her captain on the shoulder.

"I was sent from Soul Society to protect the humans," Hitsugaya growled, slamming his fist on the table. "I failed my mission. If I can't get her back, I'll be forced to go back to Soul Society and tell the Head Captain that I couldn't carry out my mission."

"Oh, captain! Don't be so hard on yourself!" Matsumoto cried, throwing her arms around him comfortingly.

"Matsumoto," said her captain's slightly muffled voice.

"Hmm?" Matsumoto asked, looking down at him.

"I can't breathe."

"Oh! Sorry," Matsumoto immediately released him, and he gasped for breath. Matsumoto tried to look innocent.

"I appreciate trying to help me feel better, Matsumoto, but this is my responsibility," Captain Hitsugaya said, straightening up with the air of one who'd like to forget he was almost asphyxiated by his lieutenant's cleavage.

"I understand, captain," Matsumoto said quietly. "He was a member of your squad, wasn't he?"

"Strange," Hitsugaya said slowly. "I don't remember him at all. I thought the name sounded familiar when I first heard it, but…"

"There are a lot of people in your squad. I'm sure you couldn't remember the names of everyone," Matsumoto said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her captain's eyes were closed.

"Hokkaido…" he whispered. "Hokkaido… I _know_ I've heard that name before…"

"Hm. I think I do remember a Hokkaido," Matsumoto said suddenly. Hitsugaya turned expectantly. "But it wasn't this Hokkaido. Maybe related or something," Matsumoto finished.

"How do you know?" Hitsugaya asked. "There's no way to be sure. What did he look like?"

Matsumoto took a sharp breath.

"That's the thing," she said slowly. "It was a girl. I remember it better now… she showed up, bright-eyed bushy-tailed for her first day along with twenty other recruits, but she wasn't particularly remarkable. The only reason I remember her name was because someone filed a complaint about her once, and, you know, I do all the paperwork."

"That's not true!" Hitsugaya said. "I do most of it. But out of curiosity, what did the complaint say?"

"Something about seeing her lurking around your room," Matsumoto said dismissively. "I questioned her about it and she said she was chasing her cat."

"Why didn't you mention this to me?" Captain Hitsugaya demanded.

"Because I thought she was adorable, and afterwards, we found your shirts cut up in pieces. Remember?" Matsumoto asked, an expression of one remembering something dear coming over her face.

"But someone stepped forward for that right after it happened, remember?" Hitsugaya said, confused. "Someone took the blame!"

"There's more than one person in your squad who has a crush on you, you know," Matsumoto said matter-of-factly. Hitsugaya blinked.

"What?" He stammered. "What do you mean, a crush?"

"You really haven't noticed?" Matsumoto asked, eyes wide. "There are at least three I can think of. I've been letting them help me with the paperwo-" She stopped immediately, with a sheepish grin on her face.

"You've been _what_?" Captain Hitsugaya demanded.

"Well, they asked," Matsumoto said indignantly. "They wanted to help out so that you'd notice them, and then they could… I don't know, get you something for Valentine's Day or something. You know, you are pretty cute."

Despite himself, Captain Hitsugaya blushed slightly, looking down at the floor.

"I had no idea," he said flatly. He felt Matsumoto's hand on his shoulder.

"I know," she said dryly. "But you're a decent captain, even if you're terrible with women."

"Decent? Terrible? I wouldn't go _that_ far," Hitsugaya said, trying to cut himself some slack. Matsumoto was relentless.

"I would," she said matter-of-factly. "However, I'd be glad to help you out. Once we get this over with and head back to Soul Society, I'll give you a lesson on how to take care of a woman."

"Matsumoto, I don't need a lesson on something like that from my lieutenant," Captain Hitsugaya said.

"Well, take your pick. I can cash in a favor with any one of the girls from the Shinigami Women's Association. I'm a member, you know," Matsumoto said, winking. "I could even get Hinamori."

"Hell, no!" Captain Hitsugaya exclaimed, leaping back. "If you dare ask her to give me a lesson on women, I swear, I will make you do all the paperwork for… forever!"

"I already do that," Matsumoto said dismissively. "Not much of a threat."

"No, you don't! I tell you, I do it all!"

~ Meanwhile ~

"They're at it again," Ikkaku said thoughtfully as they listened to the dulcet tones of Captain Hitsugaya berating his lieutenant.

"Of course they are," Yumichika said, shaking his head woefully. "He'll start looking old beyond his years soon enough."

"What are they yelling about, I wonder?" Renji asked, turning his head to listen. Rukia immediately hit him on the head.

"Eavesdropping is not considered polite," Rukia said firmly.

"Are _you_ guys a couple?" Ichigo demanded.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on finding Jun-san?" Ishida asked irritably, pushing his glasses farther up his nose and accidentally poking himself in the eye. Ichigo burst out laughing and Ishida gave him an icy glare.

"We should, you know," Ikkaku said. "The longer we take, the more chance there is that we'll find nothing but a day-old corpse."

To everyone's surprise, Ishida stood up, headed over to Ikkaku, pulled back his arm and, before Ikkaku could react, had landed a firm punch on his jaw.

Ikkaku toppled over, and Yumichika began giggling.

"Obviously the enemy wanted her for some reason, they wouldn't just kill her," Ishida said firmly, straightening his glasses.

"Unless they wanted her so they could kill her," Ikkaku said from the floor. Without batting an eye, Ishida lifted a foot and stomped on his head.

"Then they would have left her body," Ishida said calmly. Ikkaku groaned in reply.

"We have no idea where she could be," Ichigo began, when suddenly the front door slammed open. Everyone looked up immediately, and even Hitsugaya and Matsumoto came out of the back room abruptly.

A pigeon landed on the floor of the shop, pecking around as it headed towards the group.

As the pigeon reached the table, it raised its wings and flapped a few times, landing in a flurry of feathers on the table. Then it held out a leg.

Hitsugaya reached out and grasped the pigeon's leg, around which a metal loop carrying a note was tied. Hitsugaya pulled out the note, unfolded it, and read it slowly.

"I see," he said, handing the message to his lieutenant. Her eyes scanned the paper and she gave a little gasp, then gave it to Ichigo. The message was slowly passed around the table.

"You aren't going, are you?" Matsumoto demanded. Hitsugaya closed his eyes.

"'If you want to see your little pet again, send Captain Hitsugaya alone to the abandoned warehouse near the wharf,'" Ishida read off the little slip of paper. He looked up.

"Well?" He asked.

"I don't exactly have a choice, do I?" Hitsugaya said, sighing. "I'll go."

"But not alone, surely?" Matsumoto interrupted worriedly. "We'll be behind you the whole way."

"Hiro is a Soul Reaper. That means she can sense Spiritual Pressure. I'll be fine on my own, don't worry, Matsumoto." Captain Hitsugaya reached into a pocket and pulled out his Soul Candy dispenser. He raised it to his lips and popped one into his mouth.

"But… captain…" Matsumoto said reluctantly as Captain Hitsugaya's soul was forced out of his body and the Mod Soul took control.

The Mod Soul sat down at the table, looking quite bored. Captain Hitsugaya, standing above him in his Soul Reaper robes and zanpakuto, glanced back at his lieutenant.

"I'll be fine. Stay safely back and only come if something goes wrong, all right?" He said, and then disappeared out the door using Flash Step.

"Yes, captain," Matsumoto whispered.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Ishida demanded.

"We'll wait a minute or so and then head after him. We have to stay safely back, remember? Otherwise Hiro will sense our Spiritual Pressure."

~ Meanwhile ~

The door slammed open. I opened my eyes blearily, having just taken a nap and still half asleep. I could make out Hiro's figure in the doorway.

"Come on," she said, heading over to me with a knife. I cringed back as she knelt beside me and snapped the ropes around my hands.

"Where are we going?" I asked, rubbing my wrists as she forced me up and two huge guys appeared at the door, apparently acting as her bodyguards in case I tried anything.

"None of your business," Hiro spat, pushing me towards the door. I followed, blinking in the sudden light as I headed out into the room. Before I had time to take in the room, they had led me into a long, gray hallway.

"Who's your interior decorator? Can I fire him for you?" I asked. Hiro slapped me across the cheek again, but I didn't really mind, because it was so worth it.

"We are going to the hostage exchange point," Hiro said. I looked up immediately.

"What?" I demanded.

"Captain Hitsugaya will trade himself for you, or you die. It is his job to protect the humans, so I think I know what his choice will be."

My heart sank at these words. Now I had dragged Captain Hitsugaya into this? Of course, everybody else was probably dragged into it along with him… what have I dragged them into?

"Don't worry," Hiro said, chuckling. "I'm sure it will be entirely voluntary."

"What makes you so sure he won't try to pull something?" I said matter-of-factly. "Geez, you served under him for seven years and yet I still know more about him than you do."

"Laugh all you want. We'll see what happens when he trades himself over and the human is killed before his eyes," Hiro said slyly. My eyes widened slightly.

"You don't mean to say I'm the human?" I asked. Hiro nodded.

"Think about it. I'll have a blade held at your neck, he'll come in, we clap him in chains and then I slit your throat in front of him. The poor fool will finally be in my arms, unable to protect the human he gave himself for," Hiro said with a sentimental sigh. "How romantic."

"You do know Captain Hitsugaya and I aren't a couple, right?" I asked slowly. Hiro glanced at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Duh. I'm with Uryu Ishida," I said, as though it were obvious. "Hitsugaya just annoys me. I must say, though, the feeling's probably mutual."

"You're with…" Hiro stopped suddenly, her fist clenching. "I knew I should've grabbed his lieutenant instead," she whispered angrily. "No matter. He'll come for you anyway, he's devoted to his job."

"I'm saying he really won't," I said, shrugging.

"Of course he will!"

"He won't."

"He will!"

"He won't."

"He will!"

"You keep telling yourself that, lady. Whatever floats your-" I began, but Hiro had had enough. She yanked out the small blade by her belt and held it to my left cheekbone.

"Maybe I should just slit your throat now and get it over with," she hissed, the blade trembling against my skin. I tried to be indifferent.

"Fine," I said. "But then he definitely won't come."

"He'll still come, he won't know if you're already dead or not," Hiro said, nodding more for her own sake than mine. "Maybe I should just get it over with. After all, a dead human is a less talkative human."

"You say 'human' like humans say 'dead rat,'" I said distastefully. I felt the blade push harder, and a trickle of blood ran down the side of my face,

"That's because they're as worthless," Hiro hissed. "Soden, Haru."

"Huh?" I began, wondering if this was another Soul Reaper Kido, but I found out what it was pretty quickly. The two huge guys bringing up the rear introduced themselves with a nice lights-out blow to my head.


	6. Hostage Exchange

Captain Hitsugaya got to the wharf within minutes thanks to his Flash Step. As he stood on the concrete, watching the warehouse for any signs of life, his eyes wandered to the sky. It was dark, which was understandable, but stars littered the sky like a thousand fireflies. It seemed like such a beautiful night, all gone to a waste.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he began walking down the dirt road path towards the huge door of the abandoned warehouse, after the fleeting thought that abandoned warehouses were so cliché.

~ Meanwhile ~

I opened my eyes feeling very sorry for myself this time. How many girls fall unconscious five or six times in a week? And I even lost count, that's how many! I live a dangerous life… Remind me to quit if I get out of this alive…

"You showed up," said a distant voice. My head turned automatically.

I was apparently on some sort of ledge, hanging off the side of the warehouse. Looking down, the door was open and Captain Hitsugaya stood there, looking bored. I turned my head the other way and saw Hiro next to me, her two oversize goons holding me down.

"Of course," the small but admirable captain said softly. "Send her over."

"I don't think so," Hiro said, throwing back her head and laughing. She pulled out the blade and, just like she planned, held it to my neck.

"Captain! She's going to kill me either way! Just-" I yelled down at him, but Hiro clapped a hand over my mouth before I could finish.

"Don't you trust me?" Hiro crooned, waving the blade just beneath my chin. "I promised, didn't I? A woman never goes back on a promise."

"Funny," Captain Hitsugaya said, shifting his weight. "My lieutenant promises to finish the paperwork and never does it."

"Well, most women do," Hiro said disgustedly. "Your lieutenant is lazy, arrogant, and ugly. I would make you such a good lieutenant… and I'd always do the paperwork like you say…"

"You seem to forget what made Matsumoto my lieutenant. She's strong, that's why. She deserved the title," Hitsugaya called, turning his head slightly. He gave Hiro a level stare. "Unlike you. Only weak Soul Reapers would hold a human hostage to get what they want."

"I am in no way weak!" Hiro roared, taking the knife away from my throat for an instant. I took advantage of the situation and immediately ducked under the guy holding my shoulder, then kicked him in the back of his knee, causing him to lose his balance.

The other guy tried to grab him as he teetered on the edge, and their weight betrayed them. They both toppled over, crashing to the ground below. As Hiro turned to me in shock, the child prodigy unsheathed his sword.

"Frost unto the heavens, Hyorinmaru!" I heard him call, accompanied by a sound like ice crystallizing on something flash-frozen. Hiro dropped the knife and reached for her own sword.

A huge dragon's head made entirely of ice blocked my vision as it sped past me and into Hiro. Hiro leapt out of the way just in time, the dragon just missing her. She pulled her sword from its sheath.

"Send them to hell, Amarante!" She screamed, her voice shaking with rage. The sword stretched before my very eyes, taking the shape of a normal enough sword, half black, half white like most zanpakutos, except for one thing.

The sword had four edges, shaped like a cross from facing it head-on. As the dragon that was Captain Hitsugaya's sword swung around, she brought her sword down hard.

The dragon's face smashed apart, and it screamed, pulling back.

"I did everything for you!" Hiro screeched, racing towards Hitsugaya too fast for my eyes to catch. Without thinking, I focused my Spiritual Pressure.

Hiro was halted mid-step immediately, her face frozen in a look of half surprise, half hatred. Her sword dropped from her hand. She turned her head as much as my glossy prison would allow.

"You…" she snarled, her hand shaking as she tried to break apart the indestructible shielding I used for my clones. My own hands shuddered as I struggled to hold it together, because somehow it was much more difficult to hold a Soul Reaper like her still.

My Spiritual Pressure was draining, and fast.

"Captain, now would be a good time to finish her," I choked out, the shield tightening around Hiro and holding her completely still. Though she fought inside, no signs on the outside showed that she was even trying, but I could feel it.

"But you're protecting her," Hitsugaya exclaimed.

"Just do it!" I screamed, biting my lip and shutting my eyes. Just a few more seconds…

Hitsugaya hesitated still, for some reason. I couldn't hold her much longer. And then… there was a sudden flash of something like pain, something like horror, and something like surprise.

I looked down at the blade sticking out from my chest at the same moment as Captain Hitsugaya charged forward to deal Hiro the ending blow. I closed my eyes, more so I couldn't see the blade sticking out of my own chest as I heard Hiro fall.

I tried to stand up and faltered. Apparently Hiro's henchmen had not been seriously hurt, or at least had not died yet, because one of them somehow managed to snatch Hiro's fallen sword and throw it hard at the source of their master's hindrance.

Which – of course – had been me.

I fell to my knees, the sudden pain breaking through my mask of adrenaline and surprise. _It__hurts_, I realized numbly. _It__really__hurts_.

"Jun?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, turning away from Hiro's form and turning his head up to me. His eyes widened.

He was by my side in an instant, which was good, because I couldn't keep myself upright anymore. He Flash Stepped down to the ground level of the warehouse.

"Captain!" Matsumoto exclaimed, appearing at the door, panting for breath. She took in everything, and she gasped.

"Hold on, we'll bring you back to Urahara's Shop and Ichigo's friend can take care of your wounds," Captain Hitsugaya said firmly, trying to help me to my feet. All my energy was gone.

"Jun-san!" Ishida's voice said, full of horror. The sounds were getting more distant now… was this what it was like to die? I could barely hear him rushing to my side, and I only slightly felt him lift my numb hand. Soon I would fade away completely…

"Jun-san!" Ishida demanded, pinching my arm to keep me awake. I tried to smile.

"Hey, Ishida," I managed to gasp, even though I could barely breathe anymore. "Would you… do me a favor? Would you… call me Jun-chan? Just once? Before I…"

"You're not dying, you'll be fine," Ishida said firmly, but I knew better.

"Just once…" I begged. "Please, Ishida-kun?" For some reason, he hesitated.

"You stay with us, okay, Jun-chan?" He said finally. I smiled, my eyelids getting heavy. I could feel my life force slipping away, but it still felt nice to hear that.

"One less thing… on my To-Do list…" I whispered. "Arigato, Ishida-kun, Hitsugaya-taicho. And… thanks for everything. I think… I had more fun with you guys… in one week… than I had in my entire life. Please… please tell my mother…"

"You're not dying," Ishida repeated, snatching me more roughly than I would've liked from the little silver-haired captain, who was looking down at me with an expression I couldn't really place.

"Tell my mother I love her," I said softly. Good last words, I thought with pride. My vision was fading, and I could no longer hear anything. There was no pain, just… cold. And then I felt a sort of carefree bliss, and everything faded to black.

The last thing I felt was Ishida shaking me furiously just like when I thought I was dying from the Hollow. I remembered that, and a small smile curved my lips just before I could no longer feel my body.

~ In Limbo ~

There was a long tunnel. Instead of light, I could see only darkness, with just enough light for me not to fall on my face. I looked suddenly down at my chest, but the sword was gone. I could hear running water distantly.

I hesitantly began heading down the tunnel, with no clue where I was going. I felt so light, for some reason. Then I remembered, and my steps faltered.

Oh. I'm dead. Well, that explains it.

I stopped altogether, staring down at my feet. Ishida-kun… Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto, all my new friends…

"Hello," said a deep, echoing voice from behind me. I whipped around.

Standing behind me was a very tall figure, dressed completely in black, holding a scythe in one hand. My eyes traveled upwards to his face – or, at least, where his face should've been. Instead, there was only a skull.

I jumped back with a cry of fright.

"Come with me," the walking skeleton said, gesturing for me to follow as he headed past me and down the tunnel. I took a hesitant step towards him.

"Are you supposed to be… Death?" I asked slowly.

"The river is just ahead," the skeleton said, raising a hand to point. The hand was long, thin, and, of course, nothing but bones.

"Um…" I began. He didn't stop, and I was forced to hurry after him. "What river?" I demanded. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"The river that goes to the Underworld," said Death.

"I see. Um… out of curiosity, seeing as I don't have any money…?" I asked hopefully, remembering the old myths about Death. You'd pay him money to travel across the river, right? So if I didn't have any money—

"Your back pocket," Death said patiently, still striding down the tunnel. I felt around in my pocket and, sure enough, came up with two ten-yen coins and a bubblegum wrapper.

"Um… if I added a bubblegum wrapper, would that be enough to go back?" I asked, holding up my find sheepishly. Death gave me what I assumed to be a stoic glare as we reached the end of the tunnel.

Sure enough, there was a wide, black river, the other side of which was completely shrouded in darkness. A small ferry stood on the bank, waiting to collect another soul. Death headed towards it.

"Wait," I demanded. "How do I go back to my body?" Death turned back slightly.

"There isn't a way," he said. "I mean, I suppose if you did something to really, really piss me off, I might change my mind about helping you to the Underworld and you can head back yourself."

I blinked. Did the dark, mysterious, and serious Death really just say what I thought he said? Death was still staring at me, then made a move to board the boat. _I__can__do__that_, I thought.

"Wait," I said firmly, stepping up to him. He turned around. As he turned his head back, I pulled back my arm and let fly a punch with all my strength.

~ Meanwhile ~

"I'm so sorry we didn't get there in time. We followed you, but we got a little lost and… I suppose I didn't think of what could happen in only a matter of minutes…" Matsumoto said, bowing to her captain.

"It's not your fault," Hitsugaya said with a sigh, watching the group crowd around Jun's still body in Urahara's living room. "I should've paid more attention, and addressed the situation sooner. It's my fault. I guess I assumed that Jun would be safe up there, away from Hiro."

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" Matsumoto said reproachfully. "It was at least half my fault. If only I had gotten there sooner, none of that would've happened."

"What a nice little Blame Game," Ishida muttered, sitting in the corner of the room, his head bowed. "It was no one's fault."

"I suppose this is a big blow for you," Matsumoto said, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged her off.

"She was certainly lively," Hitsugaya admitted. Ishida was silent.

"Wasn't there anything Orihime could do for her?" Matsumoto asked curiously, watching the ginger-haired human girl with the group. She was one of Ichigo's friends, who had developed the power to heal.

"No. Inoue-san said that it was too late, there was nothing she could do for her," Ishida said quietly. "We'd better contact Jun's mother."

"Yes," Matsumoto said firmly. "We'll have to make something up, like a car accident or something-"

"Who are you fooling?" Ishida exclaimed, raising his head from his hands in anger. "She's got a hole through her chest. I don't think one can just make up a story for that. Besides, she would've wanted her mother to know what really happened…"

"You know we can't say that," Captain Hitsugaya reminded him. "This remains a secret."

"Even when a human dies?" Ishida demanded, his fists shaking with anger. "Because the Soul Reapers, whose job it is to protect the humans from things like this, failed?"

"Ishida," Hitsugaya said firmly. "There was nothing we could've done. If Soul Society had any idea this would've happened, of course we would've taken care of the situation long before any humans were put in danger."

Ishida began to respond when there was a sudden gasp from Orihime.

"K-Kurosaki-kun… Ishida-kun…" Orihime said in wonder, staring down at Jun's body.

~ Later On ~

I woke to a circle of heads leaning over me worriedly.

"Guys," I said, chuckling. "I'm flattered."

"J-Jun-san!" I heard Ishida exclaim as he raced to my side. I looked up at him.

"Could… could you keep calling me Jun-chan? I kind of enjoyed it," I admitted, looking down at myself. The front of my shirt was soaked with blood, and by then the pain I had felt before I died had returned.

The ginger-haired girl raised her hands above me.

"Sotenkisshun! I reject!" She said. Her hairclip glowed, and then two bright pieces suddenly broke off and whizzed around the room, then stationed one at my head and one at my feet, and the air around me glowed orange.

"What-" I began, when I felt something happening. I looked down at myself and realized that my wound was not only healing, but the hole in my shirt as well. I looked back up at her. "Nice!" I said appreciatively. She blushed.

"Hey, Ishida-kun," I asked, turning back to him. "After this, you're going to take me to a movie, right?"

"Movies kill brain cells," Ishida said disapprovingly. "How about dinner?"

"It's a date. Just be sure it's not some fast-food place, okay?" I added, raising an eyebrow. "That would be weird."

"More weird than you coming back from the dead?" Ishida asked wryly.

"Maybe not," I admitted. "But still pretty weird. You know, it was strange, but I learned a lot from this."

"Oh?" Ishida asked. Everyone crowded around, from Soul Reapers to humans to Quincy, in a way that would make an amazing family picture. I grinned.

"Yep. First of all, bubblegum wrappers are not acceptable currency in the Underworld. Second, you can go back if you make Death mad enough to be unwilling to bring you across the river Styx."

"Whatever could you have done?" Ishida asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"A few things, really," I said thoughtfully. "First, I punched him in the jaw. Then, I tried to slingshot the two coins into his eyeball sockets. After that, all I had to do was ask him if he got his good looks from his mother."

A few people bit back laughter.

"Oh, but then I told him that he must be the life of the funeral," I said, staring thoughtfully into space.

By then, I had lost Ichigo and Rukia. They were both choking in an attempt to hold back laughter, their hands clapped across their mouths.

"I think I may have also mentioned that 'dust' was really his color," I added. With that, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Matsumoto joined Rukia and Ichigo. Ishida's eye was twitching. I almost had him.

"Oh! Last but not least, I asked him if he was sure to brush his teeth and lower jaw while he was at it, two times a day, or after every meal," I finished proudly.

I felt on top of the world once everyone was safely rolling on the floor, and unrestrained laughter filled the air.

I was happy to be alive.

~ Epilogue ~

Uryu Ishida and Jun had their date the following Friday night, as planned. It went without a hitch until sometime around 8:00, when a particularly large Hollow crashed through the restaurant's kitchen and ate all the shrimp.

By the time they had taken care of it and Ishida walked her home, feeling quite crestfallen, she gave him a huge kiss and exclaimed that that was the best date ever. Needless to say, Ishida was somewhat emboldened by this statement, and got the nerve to ask her out again.

Their next date, sadly, left Jun with a permanent fear of clowns and a lingering craving for Orihime's cooking. Ishida made a firm resolve to not ask her out again, which was promptly broken when Jun told him she never liked clowns to begin with and they went out again.

Third time's the charm, apparently, as their third date went without a hitch. Ishida and Jun may have gotten married at some point… to be honest, I didn't have the nerve to follow them that far.

My last notebook detailing their life was thrown at the wall by Jun shortly after finishing my first draft. I hope you liked the story, because it went through hell and still managed to come back at least mostly unscathed.

~ The End ~


End file.
